Quasi-1500-Year-Cycle Signal in Length-of-Day Change

Abstract Length-of-day (LOD) change, i.e., variations in Earth’s rotation rate, includes the long-term slowdown trend, as well as periodic and irregular fluctuations. The current continuous sequence of the LOD change covers a time span of <400 years. Using astronomical records in ancient historical documents, combined with a modern astronomical ephemeris, it is possible to obtain ancient LOD change. Some scholars have given a discontinuous LOD data series for the past 4000 years. In this paper, the author uses the Lomb–Scargle periodogram to study the LOD series and finds a significant quasi-1500-year-cycle signal. Furthermore, with weighted wavelet Z-transform, time-varying characteristics of the cycle in the LOD change are obtained.